Discovery @ Waters Edge

Can your employees access e-mails that are legally required to be preserved?

2009-02-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

From the time we brush the cookie crumbs away as Mom walks into the kitchen until the US Attorney issues a subpoena for the evidence of fraud, it is human instinct to try to cover up what we have done wrong. When a company is facing legal risk, the circumstances that give rise to the problems are events, actions, communications or records which employees have created, reviewed or retained.

It is inevitable, in the 21st century, that the most likely evidence of guilt will be digital. It is also inevitable that the creators and custodians of that evidence are very likely to try and modify, alter or delete the evidence if they are given the opportunity. And, unfortunately, most litigation hold programs allow that risk to persist! Oh, the opportunities adverse counsel can exploit!

A company acquires a duty to preserve relevant information when it has notice of a specific litigation, or reasonably should know that litigation is foreseeable. At that point, most companies already are too late in protecting the records. There are few circumstances in which a lawsuit arises in which a company has no prior knowledge of the risk of its conduct—a train wreck is a train wreck and, in this era, litigation is relied upon to economically balance the outcomes of the damage done.

Yet, the most frequent course of action when a company has knowledge of a duty to preserve relevant information is to tell all of the employees most likely involved with the surrounding facts that the company (or adverse counsel, or forensic investigators) are going to come looking for the evidence. Few people can resist the instinct to consider: “What did I say? When did I say it? Can I delete whatever I said?”

Amazingly, most companies continue to execute their duty of preservation by instructing their employees to review their files, identify relevant materials and, in case after case, move the materials into a designated folder on a server or on their desktop for later collection. So, like chasing after the tell-all crumbs, employees open their e-mails, and in so doing, often alter the relevant metadata that is stored with the historical record. Of course, many still try to use the delete button, but doing so is almost always detected in the forensic analysis that follows—the consequences can be enormously adverse since the digital record clearly tells a story of cover-up and potential spoliation.

What is needed for any company is a process that protects their electronic mail records from alteration, modification or deletion by their employees that are most likely to do so.

Defending Electronic Mail as Evidence—the Critical E-Discovery Questions allows you—and your litigation hold program—to confront a hostile deposition without having to first swear to tell the truth. You learn the tough questions that await—and the consequences of having inadequate answers.

Can you explain how your records management program matches up to ISO 15489?

2009-01-26T07:37:00.000-08:00

One of the critical “safe harbors” available to organizations navigating the perils of electronic discovery is reached by demonstrating a “routine, good faith operation of an electronic information system”. These are the words used in Rule 37(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. If such operations can be shown to exist, then Rule 37(e) generally protects an organization from sanctions that may otherwise be imposed for being unable to produce electronically stored information (ESI) which has been “lost”.
But one of the gaping idiosyncrasies of applying that Rule is that no guidance is provided to judges on how to measure the operations of an electronic information system in order to determine if the systems have been operated routinely and in good faith. For that reason, standards become a vital source of knowledge, something judges are allowed to consider under the Rules of Evidence.
ISO 15489-1:2001 is formally titled “Information and Documentation—Records Management—Part I: General”. It is paired with a second standard, ISO 15489-2:2001, titled “Information and Documentation—Records Management—Part 2: Guidelines”. Together, these represent the recognized international standard against which to evaluate existing records management programs, design new or improved programs, and manage those programs forward with a focus on continuous improvement.
ISO 15489 informs adverse counsel what to look for in requesting records management policies, procedures and operating records. The standards emphasize the importance of strong programs for collecting and maintaining business records with legal value. The program elements and controls proposed by these standards apply expressly to both paper and digital records and information.
While many records professionals acknowledge awareness of ISO 15489, very few have actually committed to develop their programs pursuant to its terms. While I have hear many “reasons”, most of the explanations cover for the absence of senior management leadership, insufficient funding, inadequate professional skills, or similar factors. In relying on ISO 15489 as the basis to explore whether electronic information systems are being operated routinely and in good faith, adverse counsel has a compelling foundation from which to expose systematic gaps, underfunding and policy enforcement laggards.
So, even if you don’t operate pursuant to ISO 15489, be prepared to answer the questions based on the standard’s terms and provisions. Indeed, an inability to be prepared will seriously undermine any claim that the existing systems have been operated in good faith.
Defending Electronic Mail as Evidence—The Critical E-Discovery Questions includes a detailed model deposition and QUEENs Map that are heavily informed by the ISO 15489 terms.

Why We Map

2009-01-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

By Jeffrey Ritter

The first time someone sees a CastleQuest Discovery Map, they are intrigued, curious and often a bit perplexed. What, they ask, are you trying to accomplish? For lawyers, the first look at one of our Maps can often be more confrontational. For most of them, the law is organized in a linear, text-based structure, capable of being stored in books or their digital equivalents. Creating and unfolding visual complexity as a representation of “the law” subtly challenges their sense of order, and organization.

But, as I will explain in these next paragraphs, the use of maps as the primary means of expressing and displaying the knowledgebase represented by Waters Edge is entirely intentional. For all of us, the journey toward learning how we will trust digital information, and acquiring the tools for doing so, is itself a process of discovery. Maps are themselves tools of discovery, but they also are expressions of relationships, explorations, and continued evolution as we attempt to portray the world around us.

In cyberspace, we struggle immensely to grasp the complexity of the space we have built and continue to build and expand. Cyberspace is a space which evolves, expands and continues to disclose new senses of its perimeters, and its lack of boundaries. It is not difficult to draw a comparison between cyberspace and the universe—each began small, there was a Big Bang, and now each continues to expand, inexorably. It is part of our human instincts to pursue and record an understanding of the spaces in which we live—and maps are an inherent tool for expressing the consequences of our investigations and discovery.

But, unlike so many targets of mapping, we cannot easily reduce cyberspace into a defined plane, or create a two-dimensional imagery. Instead, we confront a nearly infinite space, in which the infrastructure is dynamic, the aggregation of mass (in the form of information) is volatile, and the quality of the mass is constantly being judged and valued. False information, manipulated data, fictional identities, digital assets that are merely fool’s gold—across cyberspace, we also find many of these artifacts.

How do we begin to record and map the dimensions, features and contours of cyberspace? How do we account for the destinations that are valued, and those that are merely shadows or fictions, undeserving of our attention? How do we document where to begin, where to end, and where to steer clear of the unknown spaces (where ancient cartographers would illustrate with “Here be Dragons”)?

In 2009, we are barely fifteen years past the days when the www opened its doors. Yet, the complexity is staggering. Unlike, in nature, where certain natural laws define and govern relationships, space and the physical order of things, it seems the borders, topography and spaces that emerge in cyberspace are defined differently. Cyberspace is defined by human rules, rules that we articulate and express into the physical assets with which cyberspace is created and sustained. The rules are expressed to the electrons passing across the grid, electrons which bind to the data and transport 1’s and 0’s toward becoming information. Information is what we seek, and what cyberspace requires as the fuel for its being.
As humans, there would be no cyberspace if all was useless data. Instead, we seek information—data that is useful, knowledge that enriches, enables and advances the human experience. Within cyberspace, as in any journey toward a destination, we must navigate, caress, exploit, overcome and often be defeated by the obstacles we confront. Maps provide us a resource, invaluable and essential, for improving the odds of finding what we seek—information that can be trusted, information which fuels the reasoning of the human mind.

So, there is an ongoing confrontation that challenges us. As the 21st century gains full stride, enormous tangible complexity grows and accelerates—the networks expand and re-generate, devices become more diverse, and the intimacy of human existence invites even more monitoring and surveillance. This complexity is itself creating a profusion of data, masses of artifacts and byproducts of computing across the Net that endangers our ability to manage it—the infrastructure of cyberspace is generating more data than we can, as humans, absorb and understand. The logical outcome seems inevitable that, at some point, we will stop growing the infrastructure because we cannot manage the data we create. Yet that is not occurring. Why?

I believe the reason we have not seen cyberspace—and our human reliance on the information within its vast operation—collapse, is the emergence of a very human instinct to create and enforce rules which bring order to the chaos, which structure the complexity and, in the end, orient cyberspace to the order and discipline demanded by the social order of man. Society is social because of our rules, and our enforcement of those rules is essential to the human social compact. Cyberspace functions for the same reason—it is governed by rules that provide functional order. Only now are we beginning to truly understand that those rules must be accounted for, and enforced.

When we examine the job an information security professional endeavors to accomplish, we see activities that are rule-intensive. Security can be expressed differently—it is a battle between rule-making and the enforcement of those rules against those who exploit the lack of rules in order to gain, gather and create control over the digital assets we produce—information, money, property. The lack of security is a lack of rules; nearly every security incident is an exploitation of either the absence of rules, or the absence of effective enforcement of those rules.
So, cyberspace itself is ever expanding, and ever creating more data from which information must be extracted to justify cyberspace’s continued existence. To navigate, and to find the information which we pursue, we must have a way of visualizing our beginning point, our destination and the hazards along the way. Those paths, and the topography of cyberspace, are defined by the rules—the rules that exist, the rules that have yet to exist, the rules that are effective, the rules that are ineffective, the rules that are enforced, and the rules which do not get enforced.

Mapping of rules—creating visual structures through which the rules can be identified, ordered, and enforced—gives us insight into how we govern data and distinguish the flotsam from the information of value. But to do so, the complexity of the rules within cyberspace requires us to imaginatively abandon all of our traditional mechanism for bringing order to our rules—indexed codes, non-integrated classification schemes, non-social expressions of the rules. For now, the Babel is overwhelming us, and no publisher of rules has been effective at producing a unified, coherent inventory.

As a result, bad actors are finding continued opportunities for exploitation. What is a breach of privacy, but the exploitation of the fact no rules exist to protect personal information, or an absence of enforcement of those rules, allowing the bad actor to proceed without sanction? What is a hacker’s exploitation of a buffer overflow, but the failure of design rules to be articulated proscribing buffer overflow coding errors, or the failure to test the resulting code to assure those rules, if they existed, were properly executed? What is the refusal of a company to produce the digital information from its systems that demonstrates its culpability for misconduct, but a failure to have rules in place that impose consequences on those who neglect their social responsibility to maintain and preserve the digital artifacts of their operations?

So, my decision to map is a radical effort to move differently. The first cartographers maintained small offices in the ports of call. As mariners returned, they interviewed and took notes, trying to record the contours of the shores, the obstacles to safe passage, and the destinations of consequence. In developing maps, I am proposing that we can act in their tradition. We must begin to map cyberspace and its dimensions by mapping the rules by which we govern that space. Our maps provide a visual context for the navigation, and a means to measure the value of the information found in our travels.

We have done so with the physical infrastructure of the Net—virtually any physical asset or connecting network can be visually displayed. Cell phones can be located both in the context of their proximity to other devices, such as cell phone towers, and physical ground attributes. We know where the infrastructure assets are! But as data is created and moved within the space defined by the devices, we often lose our way. By mapping the rules--by creating different structured means of looking at how those rules—we begin to provide the grid against which we can understand the value of the data that moves across, under, over and within the space that cyberspace represents.

The first maps were, by today’s cartographic measure, immensely crude—lacking scale and accurate perspective. Indeed, the measure of latitude on the face of the Earth (an accurate expression of the distance between two points moving east to west, or west to east) was not reliably achieved until the early 16th century. Yet, even with their inaccuracies, maps were still valued for the guidance they provided into the unknown.

In hindsight, like the early maps of the earth’s features, the maps we produce today may be viewed as archaic or even drawn in error. But in mapping the rules, we are able to begin to portray the risks. In mapping where losses are realized, we can begin to illuminate where new rules are needed, or new controls needed to effectively enforce the rules. And in portraying the rules, and the risks, we provide a context by which to ask the questions with which to more safely navigate cyberspace. Our failures that history may illuminate do not diminish the need to try.

As we map, we are creating tools which enable all of us to consider the complexity and vastness of cyberspace from a different viewpoint. By proposing relationships, structures, icons, proportionality and perspective, we introduce into the global dialogue on how to govern the human dimension of a wired world a capacity to perhaps transcend our own Babel and enable data, as digital assemblies of electrons, to yield information that can be valued and trusted.

And, as we create the icons, the structures, the syntax, the representational portrayals of space, devices, information and the rules, we will again proceed in the very human process that mapping enables. We will begin to overcome our fear of the unknown, our hesitancy to navigate beyond the terrain we can see, and our concerns that we can return safely to our beginning. In doing so, as mapping has done throughout human experience, we unleash for succeeding generations a clarity of understanding of the world in which we live, including the cyberspace we have created. And, with that understanding, creativity, imagination and the human instinct to explore is again fueled, to once again move to discover new frontiers.

And so, I map.

Google Webcast: Open Records, Legal Discovery and Email Archiving - What Educational Institutions Need to Know

2008-12-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

When: Thursday, December 11, 1pm EST / 10am PST
Duration: 60 minutes

Educational institutions are increasingly under pressure to manage email retention. IT administrators need to know where email data is stored, and be able to recover email quickly and reliably. Certain states, such as Pennsylvania, face looming deadlines to meet obligations driven by open records laws.

Join us for this informational webcast designed specifically for educational institutions to learn about how you can apply technology to meet the challenges of:
• Litigation and legal discovery
• Open records laws
• Data privacy obligations

You'll hear from Jeffrey Ritter, Esq., CEO of Waters Edge Consulting (www.wec-llc.com) and one of the nation’s foremost experts in the areas of eDiscovery and Internet law reform. Jeffrey will discuss concrete strategies schools can use to manage electronic information differently in order to meet legal obligations.

Bill Kee, Product Marketing Manager at Google, will then give an overview of how Google's archiving solution can help your school.

Finally, Wesley Watts, CIO of Prince Georges County School District in Maryland, the country's 17th largest school district, will discuss how his organization has applied Google archiving technology to gain control over email retention.

Google selects Waters Edge as Expert Presenter for National "Cloud Camp" Series

2008-12-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Cloud computing is emerging as one of the hottest themes in the discussion of information governance and security. As part of an educational/marketing initiative, Google sponsored "Cloud Camps" that provided interested professionals with information on "Data Governance in the Cloud". Key topics addressed in the presentation included strategies for enterprises to find security, efficiency, and compliance using the SaaS model of cloud computing.

As part of this presentation, Jeffrey Ritter, CEO of Waters Edge, spoke on "eDiscovery in the Cloud on Trial" -- including a critical discussion on cloud computing and its growing legal impact.

A description of the program may be found here.

Waters Edge and ARMA participate in EU Project: "The Internet of Things"

2008-12-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

Jeffrey Ritter, CEO of Waters Edge, recently participated as a member of a select group of ARMA International members in developing and submitting comments to the European Commission on “the Internet of Things”. This EU project focuses on how digital information records are being created to track and monitor physical things, including the controversial use of RFID tags.

Learn more about the "Internet of Things" here.

Learn more about the ARMA project here.

The Future of Records and Information Management

2008-12-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

The Greater Washington DC Chapter of ARMA International recently invited Jeffrey Ritter, CEO of Waters Edge, to deliver the keynote address for their annual theme—The Future of Records and Information Management. Jeffrey’s address challenged records professionals to re-engineer their role in the organization and defined key action items they should target for completion during the next year.

Coming soon: a link to the Agenda For Change that GWDC Chapter is distributing to its members.

Avoid Legal Issues in Disaster's Wake

2008-09-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

SearchCIO-Midmarket has published our monthly contribution to their outstanding service: Avoid legal issues in disaster's wake

The article includes a pdf of a CastleQuest Discovery Map that identifies the risks and strategies discussed in the article.

We are excited by the support of SearchCIO-Midmarket for the value of our Discovery Maps in enhancing their information services.

New Waters Edge Webcast: Evaluating E-Discovery in Outside Law Firms

2008-09-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

Following the successful release of the Water's Edge Book

Evaluating the Electronic Discovery Capabilities of Outside Law Firms: A Model Request for Information and Analysis

Waters Edge has released a Webcast capturing many of the essential factors of this process in a concise, 45-minute sponsored format. This Webcast is free to all viewers and represents tremendous value for the in-house, as well as the outside counsel. Powered by the Brighttalk platform, you may immediately access this information with the access point below:

a link to the Webcast is available here

Waters Edge Featured at GWDC ARMA Meeting Tomorrow

2008-09-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey Ritter, CEO and Founder of Waters Edge, has been invited to speak at the GWDC ARMA Chapter Kick-Off Meeting. Try to catch him if you are in the Washington, D.C. area tomorrow.

The Future of Records Management

The GWDC ARMA September program is our annual kick-off meeting, membership reception and networking event.

Cost: $25 GWDC Members/$30 Non-members. No shows will be billed. Cash/check accepted at the door. MC & Visa pay online https://128bit.clickandpledge.com/default.aspx?ID=10130&cid=US&a=20/>

Host: White & Case

Metro: BLUE/ORANGE or RED lines to Metro Center. Exit at 13^th Street Exit. On 13^th Street between G & H Streets.

Please RSVP Online, call Darren Bruening at 202-775-1908 or email Darren.Bruening@Infocurrent.com

Sponsors: The Paige Company & GRM Information Management Services

Menu: Heavy hors doeuvres, desert, wine, beer and soft drinks will be served.

Software as a Service (SaaS): The Waters Edge Podcast

2008-09-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce our newest Podcast, provided by the BrightTALK webcast hosting service.

The Podcast, "Software as a Service -- Navigating the Compliance Whirlpools" builds on our SearchCIO article "Software as a Service -- Navigating the Compliance Minefield".

Take advantage of our article, our map, and our Podcast to gain the tools to understand where SaaS fits into your business. For additional resources, please contact us on our main page.

Avoid Legal Issues in Disaster's Wake

2008-09-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

SearchCIO-Midmarket has published our monthly contribution to their outstanding service: Avoid Legal Issues in Disaster's Wake.

The article includes a pdf of a CastleQuest Discovery Map that identifies the risks and strategies discussed in the article.

We are excited by the support of SearchCIO-Midmarket for the value of our Discovery Maps in enhancing their information services.

Waters Edge Invited to BNA Conference

2008-08-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey Ritter, CEO and Founder of Waters Edge, has been invited to speak at the upcoming Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (BNA) conference in Washington, D.C. This two-day event will focus on the changes in the Federal Rules and the impact of these changes on the e-discovery and the practice of law.

Conference Information:

E-Discovery for the Enterprise: Preparing Your Corporate Clients for the Realities of the Post Rules Amendment World

Thursday-Friday, September 18-19, 2008
Marriott Crystal Gateway, Arlington, VA

Jeffrey's will be speaking on "Setting Up Your Systems: Rule 26(g) -- Setting Up An E-Discovery Team: Outside Counsel and Inside Counsel Relationships". He will be part of a panel of experts including inside and outside counsel.

Please click here to register for this event. The conference brochure is available here.

The registration period ends soon, so register today.

What can Waters Edge do for you? Find out with free 60-minute Webinars hosted by BSI.

2008-08-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

This fall, Waters Edge is excited to deliver two webinars on behalf of the British Standards Institute (BSI). BSI is the world-renowned publisher of international standards, including the series of prevailing ISO Standards for management systems.

We will be offering two seminars -- free registration links are provided at the course titles below:

Managing and Preparing for e-discovery

Date: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm Eastern Time Speaker: Jeffrey Ritter; Waters Edge LLC Cost: No Cost
"The Federal e-discovery rule is applicable to any organization that could be involved in a lawsuit where any source of electronic data might be used as evidence. The ruling applies to both civil and criminal cases. This webcast will discuss how your ISO 27001 framework can help you protect your self and be prepared for the unexpected."

ISO 27001 and the Law
Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm Eastern Time
Speaker: Jeffrey Ritter; Waters Edge LLC
Cost: No Cost

"Under oath you are vulnerable to adverse questioning. This webcast will explore the three critical contributions you must make as a ISMS professional:

* Controlling the integrity of ESI that is identified for preservation and collection.
* Assure the secure third party management of corporate ESI.
* Testify to the overall integrity and authenticity of the record."

These events will illustrate the frequently-overlooked relationship between the standards-based methodology of IT and the practice of law. With the collision of these disciplines, every legal professional needs to understand what the ISO standards are -- and how they apply to their practice.

Registration for each event is limited to the first 150 applicants, so register today! Materials from the course will only be offered to those who attend.

Waters Edge Confirmed to Present at SecureWorld Expo

2008-08-20T12:42:00.001-07:00

Jeffrey Ritter, CEO and founder of Waters Edge, has been invited to present at the September 30 – October 1 SecureWorld Expo in Washington, D.C.
The SecureWorld Expo is “the first Regional Conference formed to promote the ideals of fostering communication between security professionals and technology leaders” and hosts several different conferences across the country.

Jeffrey will be delivering two separate training sessions:

Surviving the Questions of a Hostile Lawyer [link includes bio and further information]
Information security professionals are almost certain to be challenged under oath to defend their security operations, particularly for electronic discovery investigations. This session discloses some of the most powerful strategies used by hostile lawyers to attack your work, and the strategies to be used to survive and even advance your organization's interests.

Contracting for Information Security [link includes bio and further information]
This two day session will enable information security professionals to enhance their value in negotiating, managing and enforcing commercial contracts in which information security controls are created. Participants will acquire invaluable risk maps, analytical tools and model contract language for assuring (whether as a customer or a supplier) information security is properly addressed in the contracts employing best practices that are based on ISO standards (ISO 27001 and 27002). Doing so will enable significant gains in compliance within HIPAA, PCI, SOX and privacy-intensive operations. [Note: Attendance requires additional SecureWorld+ registration]

To register for the Washington D.C. SecureWorld Expo, please visit the SecureWorld Registration Page.

Remember, the “Contracting for Information Security” session requires SecureWorld+ credentials and selection of the “Contracting for Information Security” among the courses listed.

There are limited seats available for both sessions, so register now!

Waters Edge Confirmed to Speak at NACA Conference

2008-08-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

Waters Edge is pleased to announce Jeffrey Ritter, Founder and CEO, will be speaking at an upcoming conference for the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA).

Jeffrey will discuss e-discovery issues as well as information access strategy in his presentation "Discovery: What Information is Publicly Available: Understanding and Discovering Electronic Data" as part of the NACA 2008 Mortgage Lending Litigation Conference, to be held September 5-7, 2008 in Cleveland, Ohio.

If you are in the Cleveland area during that time, registration is still available for NACA Members and Non-Members (requires purchase of a NACA membership). As the content will be tailored to the needs of the Mortgage Lending legal professional, this is an excellent opportunity to gain cutting-edge insight on a critical topic for the plaintiff's bar.

A summary of the conference information is below and available on their website:
Location:
Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center
127 Public Square
Cleveland, OH 44114
Date:
September 5-7, 2008

The registration period for this conference ends soon, so sign up today!

Echelon One Selects Waters Edge

2008-08-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

Echelon One, a leading information security research company, selected Waters Edge to produce Contracting for Information Security: Strategies for Surviving the Lawyers. This executive research note was written by Jeffrey Ritter, and was distributed to Echelon One’s private subscribers, executives in some of the world’s largest companies, investment houses and technology institutions.

Please also see Waters Edge's previous Echelon One research note Survival Strategies under New Court Rules for Electronic Evidence (August, 2007) with a brief summary available here.

Waters Edge Presents to Information Security Forum Members

2008-08-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, July 31, Waters Edge delivered a short briefing on e-discovery and information security to members of the Information Security Forum (ISF). The ISF is the "world's leading independent authority on information security" and delivers expertise to an international audience, including 50% of the Fortune 100.

The briefing was presented by Jeffrey Ritter, founder and CEO of Waters Edge, and produced with the CastleQuest knowledge-base and the WebEx application sharing platform. Please see our CastleQuest catalog to learn more about Waters Edge on-line training resources.

The official Press Release:

***********
In response to Member demand, the ISF is happy to deliver a one-hour briefing on the e-discovery process and its impact on information security professionals. The briefing presents answers to these essential questions:

· What is e-discovery and what is the role of information security?
· What are the critical “pain points” which hostile lawyers target in regulatory investigations, audits and lawsuits?
· How can information security help avoid the key “traps for the unwary”?
· What are 5 key survival strategies for staying ahead of the evolving rules for e-discovery?

Participants receive a unique and in-depth “Discovery Map” with which to evaluate their existing corporate e-discovery readiness. Join this live, interactive program and participate in discovering the answers to these essential questions. Attendance is strictly limited to the first 30 participants; the session will be recorded for later viewing by those unable to participate.

The briefing will take place on Thursday July 31, 2008 at Noon (EDT), 5pm (GMT), 9am (PDT).

Master Data Management Can Advance Compliance Goals

2008-08-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

SearchCIO-Midmarket has published our monthly contribution to their outstanding service:
MDM Can Advance Compliance Goals

The article includes a pdf of a CastleQuest Discovery Map that identifies the risks and strategies discussed in the article.

We are excited by the support of SearchCIO-Midmarket for the value of our Discovery Maps in enhancing their information services.

Jeffrey Ritter: Keynote Speaker at ISC/RMI 2008 Conference

2008-08-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey Ritter, CEO and founder of Waters Edge, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker for the 2008 Information Security Compliance and Risk Management Institute (ISC/RMI) Conference.

Jeffrey will discuss the history of trusted digital information -- as well as its current state and developing trends -- in his presentation, titled:

“Digital Justice: Proving the Truth in the Year 2058”

The official description of the speech is quoted below:

“Speaking from the future, in Year 100 of the Net, this speech examines how the principles of digital justice took shape during the first half of the 21^st century. It provides a retrospective view on the consequences of early e-discovery reforms, the resulting erosion of common law principles and the emerging control of the security domain across all of the digital assets in our global society.”

Waters Edge encourages all interested (especially those in the Seattle area) to enroll and take advantage of this excellent line-up of thinkers in the space of trusted digital information and information security.

Click here to see the official press release, including registration information and Jeffrey Ritter's keynote biography.

Evaluating Outside Law Firms on E-Discovery--Now is the Time

2008-07-14T18:29:00.001-07:00

When will in-house counsel break through the looking glass and realize that not all law firms (if any) understand the complexities of electronic discovery? When Waters Edge published our groundbreaking book--Evaluating the Electronic Discovery Capabilities of Outside Law Firms: A Model Request for Information and Analysis--we expected law firms to buy the book, out of fear they would be confronted by clients with demands to which the law firms could not respond.

But we did not expect that in-house counsel would ignore the critical need to hold their law firms accountable for vastly inconsistent capabilities that often put the client's interests at risk. The recent decision in Victor Pipe by Judge Grimm highlights that law firm guidance can be fraught with peril. In that case, counsel used key word searching to try to identify privileged records to be withheld from production and missed critical materials that were disclosed. Oops! Its pretty unlikely that the client was pleased to be paying those legal bills, and its pretty unlikely the malpractice carrier was not too pleased with the outcome either.

Corporate companies must be prepared to rigorously demand their law firms demonstrate their competency in this field--it cannot be presumed. The issue is not that the lawyers are not good lawyers--the question is whether their law firm, as a service provider of information processing and analysis, is properly managing the most sensitive data a client may control--the evidence in a hostile lawsuit. How many more decisions like Victor Pipe will be required before in-house counsel begins to realize that presuming law firm competency places their corporate interests at risk, sometimes with disturbingly significant consequences.

Software as a Service--Navigating Compliance

2008-07-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

SearchCIO-Midmarket has just published our first contribution to their outstanding service:

Software as a Service--Navigating the Compliance Minefield. The article includes a pdf of a CastleQuest Discovery Map that identifies the risks and strategies discussed in the article.

We are excited by the support of SearchCIO-Midmarket for the value of our Discovery Maps in enhancing their information services.

SearchCIO Selects Waters Edge as Compliance Editor

2008-07-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

We are pleased that SearchCIO-Midmarket, one of the Web's leading news and information sources on IT technology has selected Waters Edge to serve as a contributing editor on compliance issues facing CIOs of mid-market enterprises.

Here is what Sarah Varney of SearchCIO-Midmarket said in their announcement:

A new resource for compliance education[Sarah Varney, Technology Editor]

As an editor, it's always a thrill to discover a relatively unknown expert on the Web. Compliance is a hot topic, and Jeffrey Ritter's new monthly feature will detail the legal issues surrounding both standards and technology issues. We welcome him to the SearchCIO-Midmarket.com fold with high expectations and every confidence that he'll meet and exceed them. He debuts this week with a useful look at the compliance issues that can't be ignored when your company decides to use a Software as a Service vendor, instead of using an in-house application.

A lawyer by training, Ritter is CEO and founder of Waters Edge Consulting LLC, an advisory firm offering training, assessment and design services to enable companies to build trusted information systems. He is recognized as one of the most influential voices at the intersection of law and technology, and is a pioneer in shaping the legal rules for cyberspace and addressing the value of digital information as property, whether in the boardroom, the courtroom, the legislature or a network operations center.

He has published four books, many articles and moderates every month online training symposia for nearly 2000 security professionals who are members of ISSA, ISACA, ISC(2) and other associations. Waters Edge is part of a select group of consulting firms that conduct pre-certification assessments for companies seeking ISO 27001 certifications in the United States.

Please feel free to get in touch with Jeffrey with questions and comments at either Jeffrey@wec-llc.com or editor@searchCIO-midmarket.com. Next month, he'll tackle the compliance issues associated with master data management. Thanks, Sarah

Begin the CastleQuest: Powered by Waters Edge

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At Waters Edge, we found information security can be drawn upon as a strength, or exposed as a weakness -- with the right tools. Daily, case law reveals the destructive results of insufficient management of information resources. Companies now find costly liabilities in their records management solutions that were unknown five years ago. Courts have demanded those who defend these liabilities, CIOs, IT, and lawyers, must serve their clients at the cutting edge of technology -- regardless of their training or experience.

We believe this is not unlike the ancient strategies of attack and defense in siege warfare, where the risks of poor security involved every facet of the organization.

Just as those in the past built stone walls to defend their resources and leadership, companies today are finding proper management of digital information critical to defend their assets -- and protect their leaders. Similarly, invaders found success in breaching these walls only after they could plan around the weaknesses in their target's defenses. Opposing counsel must also create such plans to expose and exploit their target's failures in information security.

Like the warfare that surrounded the castles of antiquity, stakes and costs are high. The same innovation that created the defensive tactics of moats and boiling oil is required by companies to demonstrate their mastery of information security and trusted information. Likewise, the same meticulous testing that revealed poorly-built walls and undefended tunnels is required by opposing counsel to expose those with weak standards of compliance to the full range of punishment courts are willing to administer.

This battle requires tools that are intelligent, dynamic, and persistently effective. We believe you will find these tools in the CastleQuest system. Our maps will graphically illustrate the process-based approach to information security required to effectively demonstrate compliance, or a lack thereof, with the constantly-changing standards information management. Our QUEENS (Questions for Examination) maps will arm the professional with the "tough" questions their company or client might face -- or ask -- in a legal proceeding. CastleQuest is prepared to excel within the new climate of information security: Enroll in CastleQuest and say the same.

Welcome to Waters Edge.

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Waters Edge Consulting, LLC was established in June 2006 by Jeffrey Ritter, globally recognized for his leadership and contributions to shaping the world of digital information. Waters Edge is unique in our ability to bring together into an integrated analytical framework the converging fields of IT governance, information security, legal risk and the use of standards and rule-based design methods to develop pragmatic solutions that enhance overall enterprise risk management and produce trusted information assets.

We have started this blog to establish trusted information assets in a more interactive forum. The discussion of digital information is a dynamic one; we understand that collaboration in the blog format is simply another way to enhance the depth and perspective of our content. Waters Edge does not take the concept of "Thought Leadership" lightly -- as you will see in the following posts, we have developed unique tools to solve the difficult questions of trusted information and information security. We know the next step involves finding and working with like minds to find the answers to the questions yet unasked.

Welcome to Waters Edge.